As you may be aware, the administration at Grant Park School District has been evaluating the current food options offered at both Grant Park Middle School and Grant Park High School for the past four months. Currently, the elementary school offers a “traditional” menu (hot lunch tray) and the middle and high school students are offered an “ala carte” menu which includes a variety of choices, some nutritional and others not. During this time, I had the opportunity to participate in several conversations with our students, staff, parents, and Board of Education regarding future options for our cafeteria and the students we serve. The clear majority of these conversations involved a positive reaction to serving a “hot lunch” at the MS and HS.
Our options are quite simple. We could leave the current menu status the same as in the past or transition to a traditional menu (district wide). Of course, a transition to a traditional (hot lunch tray) menu at the MS and HS would require time, additional planning, and a change from our current system. Of course, if students do not participate, the district could face additional deficit spending in the Cafeteria Fund.
Frankly, I felt very strong that the move to a traditional menu would be in the best interests of our students. During the April meeting, the recommendation was made and the Board of Education unanimously supported the transition to a traditional (hot tray) menu district wide, beginning for the 2012-13 school year. With this in mind, our MS and HS students/parents will have similar options to the elementary, including selection from a developed menu.
The benefits of this transition, in our belief, are enormous. First, our students will be served a traditional hot tray menu that offers better nutrition and more food. Second, our parents will now have the opportunity to have a consistent purchase price (for the tray meal) at a better value. Parents will also know that the non-nutritional menu items will be eliminated, as a ala-carte alternative will consists of healthy selections. Lastly, during these difficult financial times, students whose families qualify for reduced priced or free lunch will also have the opportunity to be served a hot lunch and the school can receive financial assistance.
Your input on this matter has been truly appreciated. If you have any additional questions, please feel free to email me at jpalan@grantpark.k12.il.us.

Dr. John Palan

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Throughout the 2011-12 school year, the administration and Board of Education has spent a considerable amount of time reviewing, analyzing, and projecting the future financial stability of the District. Alike many districts in Illinois, Grant Park #6 is facing both difficult and critical decisions pertaining to finances. I have been asked many questions over the last six months and have attempted to provide further clarification for our community members with the information below.
Why are we facing the financial challenges in Grant Park? There is no one variable that attributes to deficit spending. However, the most obvious answer is that over the years, our revenue sources have been declining and at times, been unstable. For example, in 2007, Grant Park’s average daily attendance was 574. At the end of February, 2012, our daily attendance was 500 (a loss of 74 students in five years). The state of Illinois provides money to school districts based on enrollment/attendance. Therefore, as we have less students, we receive less revenue. In fact, based on enrollment from last year, Grant Park #6 witnessed a decline of $100,000 in revenue for this year. We anticipate losing more revenue next year based on continued declining enrollment and state cuts.
Over the last five years, our reserves have been utilized to maintain personnel and programs. Unfortunately, our reserves are continuing to decline and we must look at reducing future expenditures.
Are we in deficit spending this year? Yes, our expenditures are higher than our revenue in three different categories (education, operations and maintenance, and transportation). Our Education Fund, which is utilized to pay for our employees (majority) and programs, is projected to witness “negative” spending of over $180,000.
From what sources do we receive revenue? Grant Park receives revenue from local (property taxes), state (general state aid and reimbursements for transportation), and federal sources (Title I). However, our two main revenue sources derive from the local taxpayer and the State of Illinois. In the past three years, due to the economic environment, the state of Illinois is “behind” on owed payments to school districts, with an emphasis on transportation.
Do we receive state money for PreSchool? Unfortunately, Grant Park does not receive any financial assistance for preschool. The program is locally funded and currently has 21 students.
Why is the District so concerned about transportation? Grant Park School is heavily dependent on the state of Illinois for reimbursement for transportation services. When the state cannot provide this reimbursement in a timely fashion or even at all, the District must utilize limited reserves to pay for this cost. Our largest concern in the future is that large amounts from reserves will be needed to pay our costs during the 2012-13 school year. The state of Illinois requires transportation for students who live 1 ½ miles away from the school.
What does the Deficit Reduction Plan involve? Due to declining revenues, we were forced to make difficult decisions and reduce our overall costs for the future. The Deficit Reduction Plan included many reductions with the attempt to have as little impact as possible on student learning. District #6 has suspended participation in the Agricultural program, reduced classroom and maintenance supplies by 10%, eliminated “extra” summer help, reduced technology spending by over 50% and transportation costs (extracurricular, one less route, and preschool). Our athletic/extracurricular department will also see a reduction of $15,000. There are also miscellaneous cuts that will take place.
Also, the District will witness savings in salaries due to attrition and/or replacement of personnel. Lastly, we are monitoring our current enrollment (anticipated PreSchool and Kindergarten). The needed personnel, if any, for these programs is based on the number of students enrolled. We only have 23 kindergarten students enrolled for next year, which may allow further savings.
Will these cuts help stabilize our budget? Unfortunately, we will need to monitor our budget every fiscal year and adapt to our revenue sources. In fact, schools across Illinois have recently been informed that we will see a further reduction/proration of our General State Aid. In other words, we could easily lose more critical revenue next year and be forced to make more decisions. Also, our transportation costs will continue to be a critical problem if reimbursement is not received and our operating costs continue to increase.